Europeans are positive about 5G, they believe it will improve their user experience and intend to deploy it to empower their own business. However, there is evidence that disinformation is having some traction and that citizens are eager to see more, and better, communication on 5G from their governments. ETNO, Europe’s leading telecoms association, has unveiled today a new pan-European 5G sentiment survey by leading global market research consultant IPSOS. The survey is based on interviews with over 7.000 citizens across 23 European countries, including major markets such as Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK. While the majority of Europeans is positive towards 5G, 10% of those interviewed hold a negative view on this technology. IPSOS also tested some “5G myths” and found that while a small minority believes in them, a substantial amount of Europeans isn’t sure that they are false either. For example, 21% of those interviewed believe it is true that “5G is harmless to bees”, with 63% being unsure what to make of the statement and only 16% believing it is false.
IPSOS found that 1 in 3 respondents gets their 5G information from social media, but that the most trusted sources of information are technology websites, telecom companies and governments respectively. Social media and advertisement are the least trusted sources. What is more, only 8% of the respondents learned about 5G from government sources, with over 40% citizens saying they are “not satisfied” with government communication on 5G. Europeans are also clear that they expect 5G to make a major difference for the economy, with 85% of those interviewed thinking that “5G is important for business”. What is more, among those interviewees who hold managerial responsibility in their big and small companies, 51% said they “intend to implement 5G” in their company.